


Olympus University

by Dyde21



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-06-27 10:32:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19789069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dyde21/pseuds/Dyde21
Summary: Mortal!AUPercy and his best friend Piper go off to college finally in their junior year. There they meet the RA's of their building, Annabeth, Jason, Reyna, and Ashe and for two years they realize they're in for an interesting ride at colleg





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for giving this story a chance! I will try to post this without too long of gaps between but no promises. This story is cross posted to my tumblr and fanfiction.net account on the same name. If you wanna see more of me, checking out my twitter, Dyde21 that's where I'm most active.

Annabeth stared at herself in the mirror, taking a few deep breaths. Forcing a smile onto her face, Annabeth tried to mask her nerves. She had already gone through an entire week of training, and after two years in this dorm she practically felt at home here. Surely becoming an RA in charge of a floor wouldn't be that difficult, right?   
On the bright side, being an RA meant that she got to move in a week early for training, and she could avoid these few days of chaos as students started filtering in one at a time. They were down to their last day of move ins, so after another long, hot day of meet and greets, she could finally relax and settle into her normal duties and prepare for another long school year.   
A brief snippet of Taylor Swift playing as an alarm told Annabeth it was time to leave, so she quickly silenced her guilty pleasure before making her way to the lobby to head outside.   
It was still criminally early in the morning, so no one had arrived yet thankfully. A long row of tables were set up for students to check in, get their room keys and swag before they started to move in. Saying hello to the odd student or two she saw who had moved in one of the two days prior, Annabeth made her way to the table to help finish setting up.   
A chipper girl with a black undercut and far too cheery of a smile for the time of day was already laying out the folders of student names as she hummed a tune to herself.   
Smiling despite herself, Annabeth moved over and helped set out another stack of folders. “You're way too awake for this hour.” Annabeth critique as she bumped hips with the girl.  
In return the girl just stuck her tongue out. “Not my fault I actually like to get up in the morning. You get to see the sun rise, people wake up, and the world slowly come to life. It's awesome!” She offered.  
“Or you just have a screw loose.” Another voice interrupted. Annabeth suddenly saw a cup of something warm being thrust in front of her as she grabbed it thankfully. The smell of coffee warmed her very core and she was suddenly extremely thankful for the other girl. “You're an angel, Reyna.”  
Rolling her eyes, Reyna just started assisting as well, ignoring the pouty face from the pixie girl. “What, no coffee for me?”  
“If you had any caffeine in you you'd scare off all the new students.”  
Ashe pouted, but didn't offer up an argument. A moment later though a blonde walked up and handed her a cup as well. “Hot chocolate should be fine though.” A familiar voice sounded. Glancing over, Annabeth saw the final RA of their dorm finally decided to join them. Judging by the look of him though, Jason wasn't exactly a morning person either.   
Ashe sent him an award winning smile before she took a sip of it, sighing happily, and going back to work.   
With all four of them, the work was moving pretty quickly now. Which was good, considering students were starting to filter in with their parents.   
“Show time.” Reyna mumbled as she turned to face them, a bright smile being plastered on her face.  
Annabeth also turned to face the crowd that was now forming as she began to help them find their folders, get their keys, and sort them off into groups to be shown into the building before they started moving.   
Luckily it was still pretty early so there weren't too many of them yet. Thankfully Annabeth saw some of the other volunteers show up right about then as well. They took over for the RA's, starting to sort out the new students.   
Nodding to the other RA's, Annabeth nodded and moved back towards the growing crowd of students. She didn't exactly want to try and herd them, and judging by Reyna's expression, she wasn't exactly in the mood to do it either. On the bright side though, one of their group just so happened to be a ball of sunshine even during unnaturally early mornings.   
“ALL RIGHT EVERYONE!” Ashe's voice cut through the morning air, maybe a notch too loud. She seemed to understand that as she winced, having seen a few people jump at the sudden outburst. A tad quieter, she continued. “We'll start the first round of tours now and show you to your rooms. Floor 1! You're with the blonde guy, Jason. Group up on him. Floor 2, you're with Reyna.” Reyna raised her hand to show them. “Gather around her. Floor 3! You're with Annabeth.”  
Annabeth raised her hand this time, keeping a bright smile and waving it slightly. This was their first real impression of the dorms, she had to make sure it was a good one. A few of the students started to gather around her and she took a few steps back to make sure they had plenty of space.   
“Floor 4! You're the winners and you're with me. Gather around me then we'll go to the best floor.”  
She called out, earning a laugh or two as she stuck her tongue out at Annabeth. Rolling her eyes, Annabeth had to admit having someone like Ashe on the team did make these normally boring tasks just a little more bearable.  
“All right! Floor 1. Let's go! If you're still signing in, don't worry we'll have plenty more tours coming up.” Jason's voice now cut through the crowd, as he gestured and started leading his group into the dorms.   
Reyna followed not long after, and feeling like it was a good grace period, Annabeth motioned towards her group. “All right! Follow me. I'll give you a quick tour and show you to your rooms.” Annabeth said as she started herding her group towards the entrance. After explaining how you used your fob as an electronic key to open the doors in the dorm, Annabeth ushered them inside. The actual interior of the dorm was rather spacious. There was a large common room that went up two floors, with hallways branching out on either side, and a stair case that lead to a balcony above them that held the second floor rooms.   
“As you can see, this is our first common area. Either of those hallways lead to the rooms on the first floor. That big stair case will lead you up to the second floor.”   
Moving over slightly, she pointed and two doors across from each other. “This door leads to the laundry room. There's one on each floor. Do not forget your laundry. We're not responsible for what people do to clothes left in the washer or dryer for too long. If you're lucky it'll just end up in a pile on it.” She warned, before smiling again. “The other side leads to the staircase that goes up all four floors. Be careful opening and closing that door, there's a room right on the other side of the wall on each floor so be considerate.”  
Moving back across the lobby, she pointed at the other room. “One side is the trash/recycling room that is on every floor as well. The other door is to a media room. Big screen is first come first serve there, and there's one on the first and third floor. If you need to reserve the room for whatever reason, talk to the housing office here on the first floor, or in the other dorm. They can set you up with a reservation that will be enforced.”  
“Now follow me.” She offered once people were done commenting on the media room and already making plans. Leading up the large staircase that lead to the second floor, she pointed at the study room that was on the other side of double doors the divided the hallway. “This is one of three group study rooms. This one, and the one on the fourth floor are a little smaller than the main on the third floor. Now then...”  
She said, moving the group along towards the elevator. “As you can guess, this is the elevator. Please don't spill food in here, it makes it stink for ages.” Pressing the button to move to the third floor, she leaned against the wall and scanned the crowd. No familiar faces, she figured most of them were first or second years, while she was a junior herself. One face did catch her attention though. A tall guy with deep sea green eyes, and a goofy smile on his face. Annabeth's stomach did a turn, and she realized he was actually really attractive. The fact he was on her tour meant he lived on the third floor too, which was... nice. Taking in more of his appearance, she also realized he was currently chatting with another girl. She had tanner skin, and a feather was braided into her hair. They were chatting back and forth way too easily for two people who just met, so Annabeth figured they must have already been friends. That was also... interesting.   
Before she could mull over it any more, the elevator dinged and the doors opened up to the third floor lobby.   
“As you can see, the third and fourth floors are pretty much just duplicates of the first two. Except there's less foot traffic since the entrance isn't here, and instead we have the main study room.” Annabeth said with a sweeping gesture towards the large room separated from them by a wall of glass and double doors. Inside were two booths, with windows looking out to the courtyard, then the walls were lined with a counter you could sit and study at.   
“Fair warning, it gets kinda hot in there, especially during the spring and when there's a bunch of body heat.” Annabeth offered, having already spent most of her two years in that room working diligently.   
Sensing they were about reaching their limits with the the tour, Annabeth decided to wrap things up.   
Pointing towards the massive TV mounted on the wall, that had a table and three couches facing it she nodded. “This is the third floor common room, a lot of people chill out here. The TV is also first come first serve usually. Be polite, try not to use it for too long if it looks like other people want to watch something. Though for you night owls, after quiet hours people tend be either studying or in their rooms so that's a good chance for movie night or game night.” Annabeth offered with a shrug.   
Once again, people started forming plans of what could be a fun night.   
Moving to one of the hallways branching off form the lobby, she opened the door with a fob. “These are the room hallways. Most rooms are segregated by gender, but not all. We're adults now, so there aren't exactly rules about being in other rooms over night and such, but be respectful to your dorm mates, and obey quiet hours. We RA's do do rounds to make sure no one is too loud, and it's our job to be killjoys if we need to. Now then, everyone check out your room, greet your roommates if they're there, and get ready to move in!” Annabeth offered, released the excited crowd of students and a few parents as they quickly rushed up and down the hallways to find their numbers.   
Moving back to the lobby, Annabeth loitered around for a few moments to wait to see if anyone had any questions. A shy girl asked where her room was, and Annabeth patiently directed her to the other hallway and waited around a bit. A few parents had questions for her as an RA, wondering about under age drinking, explicit activities, danger the like. They seemed satisfied with Annabeth's by the book answers, and Annabeth didn't exactly blame them. It was a scary thing to have your kid going off to live on their own, usually for the first time. While every RA certainly had different levels of hardass, with Reyna being the strictest and Ashe probably being the most lenient, they all were extremely concerned with the safety of the students and did take their job seriously. Luckily that seemed to be conveyed, and before long Annabeth was making her way back to the first floor. Seeing a large group of students waiting, Annabeth sighed and figured she should speed up her tour a bit to avoid back logs of people.   
On the bright side, returning student's didn't bother with the tour so it wasn't as bad as it could have been, especially since their dorm wasn't usually inhabited by freshmen.   
Annabeth had very quickly lost track of how many tours she had actually given, and the morning had been a blur aside from the brief moment that Ashe had pulled her aside to shove a muffin and more coffee into her hand, telling her that one of the other volunteers could do a tour or two.  
Sitting on the bench outside next to the bubbly girl, Annabeth used it as a chance to catch her breath. Ashe was in the middle of happily recounting some of the cool facts she had already learned about people on her floor. Honestly, Annabeth was impressed by Ashe's people skill. While Annabeth wasn't bad with people really, Ashe really was something else. People were just drawn to her. Glancing over, Annabeth just watched the girl's eyes light up as she continued her story, a genuine smile on her face. No matter how busy they had been, Ashe looked like she was just playing around even with the pressure.  
A few moments later they saw Jason and Reyna approaching them with some snacks. Reyna leaned next to them while Jason scooted Ashe down the bench to plop down himself.   
“We have a lot of athletes on my floor.” Jason offered with a yawn.   
“Says the Lacrosse player.” Reyna countered. “I'm pretty sure my floor is mostly made up of honor students.”  
They all turned to look at Annabeth expectantly.   
Thinking for a moment while she fiddled with the muffin wrapper, she tried to remember everything she had heard them say. “I think...”  
He mind kept flashing back to that boy she saw chatting with the feathered girl.  
“I think my floor is going to be fun.”  
Reyna raised an eyebrow, while Jason nodded. Ashe just seemed jealous.   
She opened her mouth to say something before she paused, suddenly staring past Annabeth. “Hey...”  
The rest of their heads turned to follow her gaze.   
Farther down there was a boy walking down the path with two older girls, carrying what must have been a heavy, long box. Except one of them had stepped away, and was currently surrounded by a crowd of people who were offering a notebook, as if for an autograph. The girl seemed surprised, but took the pad of paper and started signing. A second later the group seemed to noticed the other girl, and swarmed her, forcing her to take a step back before she started signing as well. This left the boy to struggle down the path with a box that was clearly too much for him.   
Annabeth set down her muffin. “Who are they? We sho-” Before she could continue, she saw Ashe already bolting down the road to give him a hand. Jason was only a few moments behind her, and Reyna just looked after them, before shrugging, and stealing Jason's spot on the bench.   
The pair reached the boy who had only managed to struggle a few steps. Ashe said something in the distance, and the boy paused, before nodding. Soon the three of them were approaching the building.   
Jason had a simple smile on his face, while Ashe was grinning like a little kid. “It's a piano!” She answered Annabeth's unspoken question about the box. “I told you I have the coolest floor. It's a keyboard.” She continued as she lead them inside towards the elevator.   
As they boy walked past, Annabeth could see a embarrassed small smile on his face. His gaze flicked over to the two girls who were still being swarmed by students. Just who were they that they had fans? Annabeth didn't recognize them.   
Reyna stood up, crumpling her garbage. “That's probably long enough of a break. They're started to back up again.”  
Nodding, Annabeth felt a new sense of vigor as she started another tour, trying to be a little more engaging and interactive this time. She didn't want to fall behind the rest of the RA's, as she felt her competitive side getting stoked.   
After another tour, Annabeth saw a stack of totes being carried by someone, and the feathered girl from before following behind. She realized a second too late, and her warning didn't make it. “Watch ou-”   
The boy's foot caught on the edge of the pavement, and he crashed hard, dropping the three totes he had been carefully balancing. Annabeth was over there in seconds, hoping no one had gotten hurt.   
“Percy!” The girl's voice called out, a mix between amusement and concern.  
“I'm fine Piper.” He brushed off, a small laugh in his own voice.   
“Are you okay?” Annabeth offered, grabbing one of the totes and carrying it.   
The guy, this “Percy” Turned, and looked at her before flashing her a sheepish smile. “Oh, hey RA... Annabeth.” He said, after reading her name tag. “Uh... thank you.”  
The girl just shrugged. “He's a skater. He's taken nastier spills than that. I'd be more worried about that concrete than his skull in a collision.” She offered, setting down her own tote to shake Annabeth's hand. “You're our RA, right? I'm Piper. Nice to meet cha.”  
Annabeth shook her hand, grinning. “Nice to meet both of you. Come on, I'll help you out.” Annabeth offered as they continued up the stairs.  
Percy just flashed her a brilliant smile in thanks, and if Annabeth's cheeks flushed slightly, she'd never admit it.   
A minute later and they found themselves at one of the doors in her hallway. Percy knocked on the door with his foot, and the door opened up to reveal a woman. It was hard for Annabeth to describe her age, she was one of those mothers that just seemed to always look like the same, caring mom. She stepped aside, letting the trio in as she held the door open.   
“Thanks mom.” Percy offered as he passed.   
They all set down their totes and turned towards the woman who had been in the process of unloading a bag of groceries and setting up the place with basic necessities. Annabeth offered her hand out of instinct. “Nice to meet you, I'm Annabeth Chase. I'm the RA for this floor.   
The woman returned the shake, beaming. “Sally Jackson. So you'll be in charge of Percy this year, thank you for looking out for him.” She offered, a playful smirk on her face. “He can be a bit of a handful so please excuse him.”  
Percy groaned in an affectionate way from somewhere behind her. “Come on, mom. Don't get me in trouble before the year even starts.”   
The three girls in the room laughed and Annabeth had a feeling Percy would be fun to hang around. Even if it was just the first day, there wasn't the awkward heavy air she had found herself surrounded by in some other dorms when talking to parents. Casting a curious glance over at Piper, she raised her eyebrow as she tried to figure out a polite way to word her question.   
As if reading her mind, Piper shook her head. “Nah, we're just childhood friends, not siblings. My dad is busy with a film, so Sally offered to take me up here as well.”  
Annabeth nodded, some things making a little more sense. Percy definitely looked like his mom, but Piper understandably had no apparent relation.   
“That's the last of my boxes.” Percy said, glancing around the room. “Let's get yours pipes.”  
Sally nodded, setting the bag aside as she began to follow Percy and Piper out of the room.   
“Do you still need help?” Annabeth asked as she made sure to close the door behind her.   
Piper shook her head. “You've been scrambling around all morning, we're good. We can catch up later, I'm sure we'll see plenty of each other.” Piper offered with a smile as she stepped into the elevator.  
Waving goodbye, Annabeth took a few steps back towards one of the couches and collapsed onto it. Checking her phone, she noticed lunch had started being server a little less than an hour ago. Time was just flying by today. Sending out a quick message to the RA group chat, all of them mentioned being hungry. It seemed they were starting out the year on the same track at least. They agreed to meet up on the third floor, so Annabeth let her muscles relax for a moment. A student or two had stopped to ask her how to get to the food court, and Annabeth was quick to offer them directions. Before long, Ashe bounded down the stairs, still alarmingly bubbly as she plopped onto the couch next to her. “I'm starving.” She offered helpfully.   
Nodding, Annabeth let out a yawn. “Same. Reyna and Jason should be here in a few.” They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before a thought crossed her mind. “That boy with the piano, did everything get squared away?”  
Ashe nodded, her usual pixie like grin being replace with a softer one that definitely piqued Annabeth's interest. “Tyler? Yeah, it's an amazing keyboard, you should see it sometime. He promised to let me hear him play sometime. Apparently he's in the music program here.”  
Annabeth quirked an eyebrow as a grin crossed her face. “Oh? You seem happy about that. Making a new friend?” She teased.  
Ashe's face just flushed a little red. “No! He just seems... cool, you know?” She defended herself, looking away. “Even if he is a little cute.” She muttered in a voice almost too quiet for Annabeth to catch. Before Annabeth could press her friend even further, the elevator dinged and Reyna and Jason emerged. “Ready?” Reyna asked with a yawn.   
Annabeth nodded, but Ashe had already bounded towards the elevator, clearly glad for the escape. She shot Annabeth a sharp glare warning her not to say anything. Laughing, Annabeth just raised her hands in resignment and joined them. Before long they found themselves in the massive cafeteria. There were a number of stations that offered a variety of selections like a grill, salad bar, rice and meat, pizza, the like.   
Having decided to just stick with a simple sandwich today, Annabeth took her seat next to Reyna as she began to finally fill her needy stomach. “So how'd your tours go?”   
Holding up a finger to tell her to wait, Reyna finished another bite of her burger she was devouring. “Pretty good. Most of my floor seems pretty cool. I doubt I'll have a lot of problems this year. A lot of younger students.”  
“I'm in the same boat.” Jason suddenly chimed in as he took his seat. “A lot of first and second years, and most of them are athletes.”   
“That's rough. Good luck with your calls.” Annabeth offered sympathetically.   
Jason pouted. “Please, you're just biased. Athletes are fine, just because you don't like sports doesn't mean we're bad people.”  
Rolling her eyes, Annabeth shrugged. “I don't exactly mind sports. They just aren't my thing. And come on, last year our football team triggered the fire alarm twice, and broke a window.”  
“Anecdotal evidence at best.” Jason countered.   
Reyna looked impressed. “Someone studied over summer.”  
Jason scoffed and nudged Reyna's foot under the table. “Don't be rude.” He said, not unkindly.   
Annabeth didn't notice the small fond look Reyna got, even Jason was missing it.  
A minute of banter later and Ashe joined them, setting down two plates of food. “It seems like the food isn't much better this year than last years. Shame.” She muttered, still digging in already.   
Reyna just shrugged. “You're just all snobby about food. Not all of us are in the culinary program.”  
Sticking her tongue out, Ashe took another bite. “Fine, be that way. I don't need to cook for you this year then.”  
Reyna looked stricken as she bowed her head. “I apologize for my foolishness, please cook for me again.”  
Everyone laughed, and Ashe just seemed pleased. “Apology accepted.”  
Annabeth leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. “I think I know someone Ashe wants to cook f-” She yelped as a foot collided with her shin, hard. Reaching below the table and rubbing her poor leg, Annabeth shot a glare at her friend who was still smiling innocently with a mock expression of concern as if she hadn't just attempted to break her leg.   
Jason was clearly about to press the matter but Annabeth shook her head dismissively before she could end up in any more pain.   
Glancing around, Annabeth saw pretty much what she expected. Most of the students were dining with their parents and families. In one booth on the end she saw Sally eating with Percy and Piper, and they seemed to be having a good time from the looks of it. Following Ashe's line of sight, she found the boy, Tyler, from earlier eating with his parents and his two sisters by Annabeth's guess. Annabeth had to admit that the autograph session earlier still had her incredibly curious, but she wasn't exactly going to press an issue like that at the start of the school year, she was supposed to be his RA, not a snooper. Besides, she had a feeling Ashe would learn all about the boy soon enough, and she could learn from her later.   
Lunch ended almost too quickly, and the rest of Annabeth's night was mostly filled with some paperwork and meetings. Now that they were about to actually start their jobs, that meant there were some more boring and redundant meetings to go through for training and what to expect for the first half week before classes started that were full of orientation activities.   
By the time she got back to the dorms, it was already pretty late. A lot of the students were out for one last dinner before the parents left if they were still around.   
Jason had the first night shift for being responsible for phone calls, so Annabeth could take it easy thankfully. Making her way to the third floor lobby, Annabeth figured she should at least be around for a bit for any questions students inevitably had.   
The TV was already occupied from some returning students who knew how things worked and were currently watching Frozen of all things. So, settling into one of the chairs at the small tables in the back Annabeth pulled out some of her notebooks and decided to do a little organizing before classes started next week. She figured it wouldn't hurt to get a head start considering how busy her life was going to be combining classes with the duties of being an RA. She was stopped by the occasional new student who nervously asked her some basic questions, like how exactly the washers worked, what the RA number was, if it was okay to go to her with any problems and questions and the like. Annabeth did her best to reassure them that the questions were perfectly fine the ask her, and that her door was always open if they needed to talk to her, and that it was her job to deal with stuff and they shouldn't be afraid to ask her. Especially the new students, Annabeth did actually care about helping them feel at home and safe. This wasn't just a resume buffer to her.  
Before long Ashe had also popped downstairs to join her. She had claimed the seat next to her, and was softly humming along to the songs as they played during the movie, in a surprisingly in key pitch. In vain, Annabeth had suggested Ashe also get a head start on studying and preparation, but Ashe shrugged and said “that was a problem for future me.” Rolling her eyes, Annabeth could tell her friend hadn't exactly learned a lesson from the past year. That meant probably another year of occasional crash courses and late night study sessions.   
Percy and Piper showed up rather late that night with a teary-eyed Sally as they stopped by his room. It wasn't difficult to tell that his mom and himself were close, and she had a feeling it would be the first time Percy was away from her. Her heart broke for the mom, but her day had been filled with bittersweet moments like that. Sally had stopped by on her way out, still dabbing some tears out of her eye.   
“Thank you again looking out for Percy this year. I know he's grown up, and he'll be fine. But I'm glad his RA seems to be someone responsible like you.”   
Annabeth just nodded. “No worries, I'm sure he'll love it here and he'll thrive. Don't worry, I'll make sure he calls you.”  
Sally just laughed, but the briefest expression of relief crossed her face. “I'm not too worried about that, I think he'll be good about it but if you keep him in line it'll be a miracle.” She teased. “Well I should get back to the hotel now, but thank you again.”   
Annabeth waved goodbye to the kind mother and settled back into her chair.   
“She seems nice.” Ashe remarked idly, a small smile on her face.   
The door leading to the hallways upstairs opened, and a chorus of voices sounded out. Glancing up, Annabeth saw that boy from earlier, Tyler, leaving with his family. They seemed to spot Ashe, and the family made their way over to her.   
Tyler stayed off to the side, near the elevator as he was clearly embarrassed.  
His dad was next to him, and they were chatting, and despite Tyler's clear hesitation, they were laughing.   
Annabeth saw a tall woman shake Ashe's hand, and two girls slightly older than herself by her guess both shook Ashe's hand again. “Thank you again for taking care of my brother.” The first one said fondly.   
“I'm sorry for any trouble we cause him.” The other one offered in a kind of sad tone.   
The mother just rested a hand on each of their shoulders. “Ty will be fine.”  
Ashe just nodded and glanced over at the boy briefly. “Don't worry, he'll fit right in I'm sure. I'll make sure he calls you regularly too.”  
The mom laughed. “If you can manage that you're officially the best RA ever.”  
Ashe saluted. “Leave it to me!”   
They all said their goodbyes, and Tyler walked them down to the exit.   
Once the elevator closed, Annabeth cast a glance over at Annabeth. “Why did they say they'd cause trouble for him?”   
Ashe opened her mouth to respond, before she glanced around. “I'll explain later.” She offered in a surprisingly serious tone, once again causing Annabeth to be super curious. Still, trusting her friend's judgment she let the subject drop.   
Not long after the elevator on the fourth floor dinged, and looking up Annabeth and Ashe could see Tyler walking back alone, his head kinda hanging low. Annabeth felt her heart sink a bit unfortunately. It was clear he was sad. Glancing over, Annabeth could see Ashe's emotions clearly on her face. She looked like she wanted to go up there and hug the boy. It seemed like she was already invested in him, but Annabeth wasn't exactly surprised by that. Out of all the RA's of this dorm, Ashe was readily the most empathetic.   
Still, a moment later the door closed and Tyler must have slunk back off to his room. Ashe looked over to her, and Annabeth shook her head. From their brief interactions, Annabeth could tell he was like herself, and prideful. She doubted the thing he wanted right now was some RA fussing over him.   
Ashe just nodded and slunk back into her seat, clearly pouting a bit. Before long though, everyone was yawning and the busy day was starting to weigh on them. Ashe said goodnight first, and soon Annabeth was also calling it a night. Slinking back to her room, a special room for RA's that was a single person room instead of the four person suites the rest stayed in, Annabeth called it night.   
It was only the first day, but there had already been a few new people Annabeth was excited to meet.  
Thoughts of Percy drifted through her head, and Annabeth had a gut feeling that her junior year was going to be a fun one.


	2. Orientation

Percy had thought that the loneliest feeling he could have experienced at college was seeing his mom driving away from him. Turns out he was wrong, when that had happened at least his childhood friend Piper had been at his side, reassuringly rubbing his back and nudging his hip to remind me that she was there for him, and he wasn't alone here.   
No, it turned out the loneliest feeling was waking up in a strange bed, in a strange dorm, away from home for the first time, away from his mom and his old life. Sitting up in bed, he just stared around his still mostly packed-up room in a faint numbness. It felt foreign, and a little unwelcoming. He still only had a vague understanding of where things were in the dorm. It didn't feel like his home, it felt like a hotel he and his mom would stay at. Except this time, he'd be living here for months.   
Swinging his legs off to the side of the bed, he just sat on the edge, staring at his reflection in the door length mirror that made up the door to his closet. He didn't look any different, but he felt it certainly. Pulling out some jeans and a t-shirt from his travel bag, he quickly made his way to the bathroom, noticing the dorm was empty. He figured others must have been off to breakfast or something.   
The dorm room Percy was staying in was like a mini apartment. It had four small single rooms that had a bed, a desk, and a closet, while they shared two bathrooms and a large living room in the center. There was a fridge, a sink, and a microwave there, and someone had put a TV last night so they at least had one to share in there.   
He still didn't know much about his roommates, but they seemed nice enough at least. He hadn't met the two in the opposite rooms from him, but the nearest room was occupied by a nice guy named Beckendorf that Percy had a feeling he'd get along well enough with.   
Quickly hopping in the shower, a part of him registered that this wasn't the shower he was used to. It was newer, it didn't have the same old creaky pipes he had grown fond of after years in their old apartment. Letting out a sigh, he showered quickly, finding the usual relaxing routine just adding to his stress. Changing into some fresh clothes, Percy headed back into his room. Looking in the mirror, he paused before switching to a nicer shirt and flannel just to be safe.   
Perhaps his mom was right and starting off with a good first impression wouldn't exactly be a bad thing.   
Checking his phone, he saw some messages from Piper. Scrolling through them, he smiled to himself. Some complained about the size of the bathroom, apparently her dorm mate “Silena” was actually pretty cool. A few messages yelling at him to wake up, and the last one wondering if they wanted to get breakfast together. Quickly typing a reply, a few seconds later his phone buzzed with a thumbs up, and an order to meet her in the third floor lobby.   
Making sure he had his wallet, phone, and earbuds, he paused outside his room door. Did he lock it? Figuring it was better safe than sorry, he had head some scary stories of college, he locked the door quickly and made his way out into the hallway. Looking around for a moment to remember which way was the lobby, he made his way down there. He couldn't help the mild sense of nervousness that bubbled up within him. This was officially the start of a new chapter of his life, one he wasn't exactly sure how prepared he was for it.   
Opening the door to the lobby, he was surprised to see not one, but seemingly two people waiting for him. Piper, and the blonde RA from the day before, Annabeth he recalled, were both chatting happily on the couch. It seemed they had become fast friends already, and Percy had to admit he felt a little betrayed. Piper didn't seem to be suffering from the same nerves he did, though she always did have a way with words and making friends.   
Walking up only feeling a bit awkward, he took a seat next to Piper on the couch. Piper nudged him. “Morning sleepy head.” Piper said.   
Annabeth just smiled, offering a small wave.   
Nodding, a yawn escaped Percy's mouth. “You two seem to be getting along pretty well.”   
Piper shrugged. “Annabeth's pretty cool. I'm glad she's our RA.”  
Annabeth beamed at the compliment, and some part of Percy registered that she had a really nice smile.  
“Nice.” Percy offered lamely. He wasn't exactly sure what to follow that up with. Piper rolled her eyes at her best friend's response, but mercifully let it go.   
“She was telling me you two have been friends since middle school?” Annabeth chimed in, clearly offering him a way into their conversation.  
Nodding, Percy sat forward and smiled slightly at the memory. “My mom had gotten me my first skateboard finally after years of begging. We went to the skate park to try it out. It took me a few tries, but I finally had a successful drop in, and I immediately slammed into Pipes. She yelled at me, I laughed, and we've been friends since.”  
Piper scoffed slightly, nudging his shoulder fondly. “He left out the part where he started crying at first.”   
Percy felt his ears burn red with embarrassment, and Annabeth let out a brief laugh before she covered her mouth, clearly trying to hide her amusement at his expense.  
“I was a little kid, and it hurt! A lot!” He offered in his defense, glaring at his “best friend.”   
Annabeth waved it off, still suppressing giggles. “There's nothing wrong with boys crying. Just imagining you as a kid decked out in pads was a really cute image.” She offered, snickering again.   
Piper laughed openly. “You should ask his mom to see pictures, he really was cute.”   
Percy flushed red again, and his head face in his hands. “I already hate college.” He mumbled to himself.   
Piper laughed, resting a hand on his shoulder apologetically. “Sorry. It's really not a bad thing.”  
Annabeth also looked a little apologetic. “Really, it's okay.”   
Percy just sighed, leaning back in his seat. At least they were having fun, that was always a good thing.   
Continuing, Piper poked his side. “Though I do wish you would go back to wearing pads. I'm getting tired of going to the ER with you every time you see a rail that you can 'totally grind down.' I'm pretty sure if I let you get hurt while you're here your mom will kill me.”   
Percy laughed. “Piper, my mom loves you. You could kill someone and she'd lie to the cops for you.”  
Glancing over, Percy saw Annabeth was just sitting quietly, listening to their banter with a small smile on her face.   
“So whats the plan?” Percy said after a minute.   
Piper glanced over at Annabeth. “We're joining Annabeth for breakfast in a few minutes. She's waiting for the other RA, then we're heading over. After that there's a school tour that is semi-mandatory apparently. She highly recommends it, so we're going.” Piper decided for him. Shrugging, Percy figured it wouldn't be a bad idea. He didn't exactly want to spend his entire first week lost if he could help it.   
Glancing around the room, it was clear who was a returning student, and who was new. Some people were already making their way to go get food, some were studying, some were catching up with old friends. New people like him, were either awkwardly standing around, asking Annabeth a question or two, or just staying off to the corners, avoiding attention. Percy felt immensely glad he had Piper around to stick around with, and no one was quite as good as starting a conversation as she was.   
Before long, a kinda familiar face bounded down the stairs, with a smile that was way to bright and shiny for the time of the morning it was. He was pretty sure that was the RA for the fourth floor if he remembered correctly.   
“You're up late?” Annabeth greeted in a confused tone, making Piper and Percy share a glance.   
Late? Piper mouthed to her. It was only 10 AM. On a Saturday.  
Ashe rolled her eyes. “Please. Someone already locked themselves out so we had to go to the housing office to get the spare to them in. Then I showed someone how the laundry worked. Then I had to let someone else in as well.” She offered, though she didn't seem that upset about all the work she had already done.   
The chipper girl turned towards Percy and Piper. Narrowing her eyes, she bit her lip for a moment. “I have no idea of your names yet, I'm sorry! I'm Ashe, fourth floor RA. Pleasure to meet you!” She offered, shaking both of their hands.   
“I'm Percy, and this is Piper.” He offered, gesturing towards his friend.   
“Great! Percy. Piper. Got it.” She said eagerly, staring at them a little longer like she was taking a mental picture. “If Annabeth is ever busy, feel free to bug me. I'm also always available to help, and I'm usually awake a lot earlier than she is.”   
This time Annabeth scoffed. “You're awake a lot earlier than everyone else is.”  
Ashe shrugged, clearly having had this debate a million times before. “I'm starving, you all ready?” She paused before turning to Annabeth. “Don't forget the floor dinners tonight. Make sure you tape the notes on the doors and remind everyone.”  
Annabeth nodded. “Already on it.”   
Ashe nodded, satisfied. “Good. Let's...” She trailed off as Percy saw her gaze zero in on something... or someone.   
Following the gaze, she saw her looking at a boy in the study room. He was all alone, scribbling something on a notepad near the window. Percy was pretty good at reading people, and he was pretty sure that guy was feeling as awkward as he felt earlier, except he didn't seem to have a Piper with him.   
“Tyler...” Ashe mumbled out, confirming Percy's suspicions that he was one of Ashe's residents.  
“Hold on.” She mumbled out as she quickly made her way across the floor towards the study room, opening it without hesitation and saying something that caused the boy to look up, startled at the sudden interaction.   
The doors closed behind her, so he couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, but it seemed like inch by inch, Ashe was drawing him in. Within a few minutes, she was chatting happily and openly with him, and he seemed like a different person than he had been in the room alone. His body had turned towards her, he had a smile on his face, and he was gesturing with his hands as he spoke. Percy saw him say something, Ashe started laughing, and he got a familiar smile on his face that Percy knew well. It was the look of someone who was happy they were making someone laugh.   
Ashe seemingly went in for the kill, because the boy looked confused for a moment, before he nodded hesitantly and stood up and followed her out of the room.   
He looked a little sheepish as he approached the rest of the group, so Percy tried to ease the tension a bit. Standing up, he offered him his hand, putting on the friendliest grin he could. “Percy.”  
The boy stared at the hand for a moment before he shook it, slowly smiling himself.   
“Tyler.”  
“And I'm hungry, so let's go.” Ashe offered.  
They all started to move towards the elevator, when in a voice almost too faint to hear, there was a quiet “Hi hungry, I'm dad.”  
Percy quirked an eyebrow, Annabeth let out a muted groan, and Piper turned to look at the newest comer, Tyler who was looking like a deer in the headlights, clearly not having expected to have been heard or acknowledged.   
Ashe however just laughed, grinning.   
“That was awful. I loved it.” She offered him, pushing the button to the elevator as she snickered at him.   
Tyler just looked away, his cheeks red but sported a small smile.   
Piper nudged Percy's shoulder, and shared a look with him before gesturing her heads towards the two of them.   
Annabeth seemed to be in a similar train of thought as they all piled into the elevator. Ashe had already struck up a simple conversation with Tyler, asking him about what kinds of food he liked, leaving Annabeth to glance over at Piper and Percy.  
“So I saw you two yesterday, I assume you have a good understanding of the cafeteria?”  
Piper nodded, but Percy shrugged. “I just saw pizza so I grabbed it. It was okay.”  
Shrugging, Annabeth nodded. “Every day is a little different, different menus and different chefs on rotation so the quality varies. Probably can't compete with your New York pizza though.”   
Percy nodded sagely. “Of course it can't, but it's good enough.”  
Annabeth cracked a small grin. “There is a local pizza joint that you should try though. It's not too far away, and definitely blows the cafeteria out of the water.”  
Percy perked up in interest as the elevator opened and they made their way out of the building.  
“You have to take me there!” He said, a little too eager for how he meant to sound.   
Piper snickered, and Annabeth gave him a strange look before she just smiled and nodded. “We'll find some time and I'll show you where it is.”  
As they made the trek across the courtyard, ahead of them Ashe was currently explaining the various types of food, and dishes that really should look out for.  
Glancing at the pixie girl, then over at Annabeth, Percy noticed Piper's gears turning. She was definitely up to something. He had learned to recognize that look after their years as friends together. It meant his best friend was scheming, and usually that trouble would follow before long.  
“So... is Ashe single?” Piper asked suddenly, still looking ahead but glancing at Annabeth out of the corner of her eye.  
Annabeth paused, stuttering in her step as she wasn't expecting the question. Nodding, Annabeth glanced at her raven haired friend. “Yeah, she is. Has been as long as I've known her too.” She offered, before she glanced over at Piper. “But uh... She's only into guys. Sorry. I do-”  
Piper's eyes widened, before she laughed and shook her head. “That's not what I meant. I meant him.” She offered, gesturing towards the fourth floor boy who was currently explaining some story as he gestured with his hands.   
Annabeth pieced two and two together in her head seemingly as Percy saw her nod. “Oh.” She offered, seemingly a bit sheepish for a moment about misunderstanding. Hardly missing a beat though she nodded. “I'll admit, I don't think I've seen Ashe really connect with someone like that before.” Annabeth offered before she paused. “I mean that girl can connect with anyone that speaks to her for thirty seconds, but this does seem a little... different.”  
Piper nodded. “That's what I was thinking too.”  
Still, Percy could see Annabeth was deep in thought. “I don't know if it's that simple though. Ashe is... careful... about relationships. Tyler is going to have to really be someone special if she's going to open up to him.”  
Percy saw his best friend be quiet for a moment while she stared at the guy in front of them. “Tyler... seems to have something more with him too. But... I think it's going to work out. I have a sense for these things.” Piper offered with a smirk.  
Annabeth quirked and eyebrow and Percy just sighed. “Piper's almost never wrong about this stuff. I've known her for ages and she's called pretty much every relationship our friends have been in months before they happened.  
Annabeth just laughed. “Good to know.”  
Percy nodded. “If Piper says you're going to end up dating someone, it's probably going to happen.”  
Annabeth nodded, as they walked in silence for a moment, listening to Tyler explain the kinds of food he would love to try someday while Ashe chimed in about which one she also wanted to try.  
“Did that happen to you?” Annabeth asked, shooting a glance that was so quick, Percy wasn't sure if he had imagined it or not.  
Piper nudged him hard in the side, but before he could answer she spoke up. “Nah, I haven't met anyone that would be a good match for him yet. Plus his attempts haven't gone over that well either.”  
Percy felt his cheeks grow warm at Piper bringing up his past attempts at romance. While they hadn't been bad experiences, they hadn't really gone anywhere either.  
“But I have a good feeling about this place.” Piper said, glancing at Percy before her gaze shifted to the blond accompanying them.  
While Percy debated how hard it would be to find a new best friend at college, Piper apparently wasn't done.   
“What about you, Ms. RA? Is there a Mr. RA in the picture?” She asked with a snicker.  
Annabeth rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. “No, there isn't.” She offered, very pointed ignoring Percy's curious gaze.  
“Oh, well that's per-” Piper cut herself off as she suddenly stumbled forward after Percy kicked the back of her shoe as she walked.   
“Sorry, my bad.” He offered with a shrug as they approached the doors to the cafeteria.  
Ashe was holding it open, glancing back at all of them with a curious look. “Looks like you all are fast friends.” She challenged, but with a warm smile.  
Annabeth just flicked her friend on the forehead as she passed. “You're one to talk.”  
Ashe stuck her tongue out in retaliation as they all piled into the cafeteria.  
After an awkward moment of trying to figure exactly how to get the food pass to work, Percy joined the rest of them as Ashe gave a very educated opinion on what food they should be trying.   
Piling on a couple pancakes and drowning them in syrup, Percy stared at his sugary plate for a moment, already hearing his mom nagging him in the back of his mind. Shoveling them a bit off to the side to make some room, he moved over to the side bar and piled on pears just for good measure. Fruit and sugar, a balanced breakfast.  
Making his way to the table where he saw Piper sit before, he joined the rest of his small crew of people.   
Piper finished a bite of her hash browns as he looked at his plate with a dry look. “Glad to know you're eating healthy already.”  
Annabeth snickered as Ashe just stared at the two, chewing a bite of her waffle.   
Percy just nudged Piper's foot under the table as they all chatted simply between bites of food. A moment later, Ashe paused. “Wait... we're missing someone. Where's Tyler?” She asked, looking around before standing up. “Did he get lost?”  
A second later, Tyler showed up setting down two plates of food. “Buffets really are the greatest thing in existence.”  
Everyone stared at him, then the massive pile of food he had brought, then back up at him.  
He just sat down, pausing before he took a fork full of food into his mouth. “What?”  
Percy saw Ashe's gaze flick over the boy's body before it went back to his eyes. “Nothing. I'm glad you like the food.” She offered.   
Tyler looked a bit self conscious for a moment, before he just started wolfing down the food.   
Piper leaned across the table slightly. “I thought you had a big appetite...”  
Glancing over at their new blond friend, Annabeth was just peacefully working on her plate of fruit and eggs as if everything was normal.   
Catching their glances, she shrugged. “When you've been eating in a cafeteria for a while, you learn to stop guessing people's appetites. I've seen tiny people consume enough food to last me the winter in one sitting. I've learn to just eat and let eat.” She offered with a non committal shrug before she went back to her plate.  
Piper and Percy shared a glance, before a smile and a laugh broke out between them. It seemed like college was going to be a lot more fun than they had anticipated.  
Before long they had all finished their food, and had settled for continuing to get to know each other.   
Piper's explanation about still being unsure of what major she wanted was cut off as Tyler dropped his fork.   
“Wait, you're a chef?” He asked Ashe, a tad too loud.  
Ashe just snickered, sitting back. “Culinary student, but yes.”  
Tyler stared at her like she had descended from heaven in front of him. “Why didn't you mention so earlier?”  
Ashe shrugged. “You never asked.”  
The boy just stared at her with awe on his face. “It must be cool to be able to cook whatever you want. I'm kinda... banned from my kitchen at home. Too many fires.” He sheepishly admitted after a moment.   
Looking at him with a mix of amusement and pity, Ashe nodded. “I love cooking more than eating honestly. The real thrill is seeing people eat my food. Seeing how it brings people together is the best feeling. Seeing a table of happy people enjoying food and each other's company? There's no greater compliment to a chef.” The girl offered in a surprisingly sincere moment.   
Annabeth threw an arm over the girl's shoulder in a quick side hug. “That's why Ashe is our resident angel.”  
Ashe shrunk slightly at the compliment, blushing as she looked off to the side.  
Tyler was just staring at her with a look that Percy knew all too well. It was the look of someone who was starting to fall hard.  
“I'm sure your cooking is lovely.” He offered after a moment of deliberation.  
“I'll be sure to make something for you then, you can see for yourself.” Ashe offered simply, before she was caught off guard by how excited Tyler seemed to get.   
“Please.” Tyler begged, causing Percy and Annabeth to snicker. He looked like a puppy with how eager he was.  
Ashe had just smiled. “Of course.” Pulling out her phone, she glanced at the time before she stood up suddenly. “Shoot. The tours. Hurry up guys.” She said suddenly as she sped off towards the dishes.  
Percy saw Annabeth's own eyes widened as she quickly scooped up her own plate.   
Piper shared a glance with him before they both shrugged and moved to follow their RA's. The tour was probably important after all.  
Hurry across the campus, Percy was starting to regret eating so much. Moving around that much after eating certainly wasn't a good combination.  
Annabeth wasn't that far ahead of them, but Ashe and Tyler were both moving surprisingly fast as they all rushed over towards the dorms.   
By the time Percy and Piper caught up, Ashe was already cheerfully herding students into four large groups as if she hadn't been running there late thirty seconds ago.  
The RA's from Percy's dorm were apparently teaming up with the RA's from the dorm across the yard for the tour, so they split up into pairs to each take a group. Annabeth apparently stuck with Ashe as Reyna was teamed up with Jason.   
“You ready Pi...” Percy trailed off as he saw his best friend staring at the blonde RA, Jason with a definitely interesting expression. Unable to hide the grin that crept over his features, Percy nudged his best friend's shoulder. “See something you like?”  
Piper looked startled for a moment before she turned to him, blushing. “No. Hurry up, we're getting left behind.”  
She muttered, slapping him on the back a little too hard and pushing him towards the crowd of people that were starting to head off following the two RA's.  
They caught up and blended into the group, ignoring the curious gaze Annabeth had given them while in the middle of explaining the history of the three dorms at their college.  
The tour was pretty quick, but surprisingly interesting. Annabeth just seemed to be loaded up with facts about each of the buildings, amusing stories, and the answer to every question asked. Ashe meanwhile was fantastic at working the crowd, and had Percy laughing more than once. Those two seemed like an effective pair of RA's for sure.   
The tour continued around the campus, and soon Percy had a vague idea at least of most of the buildings. He knew where to find his classes at least, and some cool spots to check out. He had learned about the cafeteria farther down campus that various restaurants had opened up mini spots at, where the library was, the computer lab, and the art buildings. Once they had started to loop back towards the dorms, they paused in a sort of courtyard.   
“Before we head back, are there any more questions?”   
Percy and piper shared a glance, but they couldn't really think of any other places he wanted to see. They had hit everywhere he wanted to see, that he could think of at least. Piper thought for a moment. “They have a pool don't they?”  
Percy's eyes widened. He didn't know where that was, she was right. Before he could raise his hand, he saw Ashe turn and point at someone behind him. Turning, he saw Tyler nervously raising his hand.   
“Where's the gym?” He asked, clearly uncomfortable with the eyes all on him.   
Ashe paused for a moment, glancing at him curiously before she recovered. “Right! We should have covered that. Here, everyone lets go.” She said, leading them as a group across towards the football field. Soon they saw a large building with many glass walls as she gestured towards it. “That's the gym. Any student here has access to it. We offer health resources as well as multiple students will soon post fliers as offers to be a personal trainer for a small fee. I recommend going to the gym at least occasionally here, it helps your health, and balances out all the stationary time you'll spend sitting and studying and the food you'll be packing in.”  
Percy looked at Ashe a little closer, and noticed that she actually looked pretty athletic. For that matter, Annabeth did as well.   
Checking the time, Ashe and Annabeth nodded. “We'll end our tour here for the day. Please meet up on your lobby floors at 5 PM. We'll have a floor dinner today to get to know your neighbors.” Annabeth explained, before they waved everyone off. Annabeth and Ashe separated a bit, giving students a chance to walk up to ask additional questions and just playing the crowd, making friends and all that. Piper wasted no time in walking over to Annabeth. “We still need books, is the store open?”  
Annabeth checked her watch, shaking her head. “No, they closed early today. I recommend tomorrow morning, early. That'll be before the rush of people and you'll be able to get in and out pretty quickly.” Piper nodded, ignoring Percy's protest at having to wake up early again.   
“We have some time to kill, need help unpacking?” Piper asked Percy after Annabeth's attention was grabbed by another freshman who was nervously asking where the language classes again were.  
Percy considered saying no again, but remembering the stack of boxes he still had, he sighed.   
“Yeah.” Messing a hand through his hair, Piper just smiled. “Come on, let's go.”  
Annabeth waved goodbye to them and soon Percy and Piper were making his room a little more livable and most likely the cleanest it'll be for the rest of the year.  
It was a good thing Piper had set an alarm, because she was pretty sure they would have missed the dinner otherwise, especially once they got distracted when they found a deck of cards and were playing speed on the floor of the living room. Running a bit, they entered the lobby just as Annabeth was leaving with the group, casting them a look that was a mix between amusement and scolding.   
Sheepishly they merged into the group and headed to the cafeteria. The line had taken even longer than before, which Percy realized he had to get used to it here. Eventually though they got through the herd of hungry students, and managed to grab some food before seeing the table marked by a large 3. Taking a seat, Percy saw Piper sit down next to him. Pausing, he smiled at her. “I just... thank you for coming here with me. I know you got into some other places too, but it really would have sucked to not been around you and been all alone.”  
Piper gave him an honest smile and rested a hand on his shoulder for a moment. “You're not the only one nervous, Perce. Just because I'm better at hiding it doesn't mean I'm not glad you're here too. Besides who else could be your wingwoman with...”  
“Hey guys.” Annabeth chimed in as she sat down with a plate of food across from Percy. “Am I interrupting?” She asked, suddenly clearly nervous she had accidentally stepped into the middle of something, her gaze on Piper's hand on Percy's shoulder.  
Piper just laughed and shook her head. “Nah, Percy's just being all sappy.” She offered, mercilessly throwing him under the bus again.”  
“I take it back.” Percy muttered, causing Piper to laugh.   
“Too late.” She sing songed.  
Annabeth just raised an eye, but before she could press the point another student had leaned over and asked her another question which she answered with a smile. Percy was impressed, sure he liked people but he doubted he could keep up with all the questions like Annabeth seemed to.  
Glancing at the other tables that had been marked off for the floors, he saw Ashe once again talking to Tyler, and she seemed to be paying a bit too much attention to him in his opinion. He vaguely recognized “Reyna” at one of the other tables, talking to two other students. Piper's gaze was locked on that blonde again, causing Percy to grin. “I'll make sure to be the best wing-man I can.” He offered, and while Piper blushed, she didn't deny him for once which gave Percy a bit of a pause. Maybe Piper really was interested? That was rare, and Percy felt his protective side come out. Piper was like a sister to him, and any guy that wanted to get close to her was going to have to go through him at this college. He refused to let her heart get broken here if he could help it. Piper had been with him when his dad left, and through the utter hell that had been the “Gabe” saga. She deserved the world in Percy's eyes, and she wasn't going to let some hormone-driven asshole ruin it for her.   
He must have been scowling at his own thoughts, because he soon noticed both Piper and Annabeth giving a look of confusion. “Something wrong?” Annabeth asked. “Why are you scowling at Jason?”  
Percy's eyes widened as he shook his head. “No! I wasn't... I just... got lost in my own thoughts. Just happened to be looking at Jason. He's an RA right?”  
Annabeth seemed a bit confused by his train of thought, but nodded. “Yeah, first floor. He's a great guy, captain of the lacrosse team. You'll probably get along with him, I'll introduce you sometime.” She offered with a shrug, and Percy cast a side eyed glance at Piper who was suddenly very interested in her mashed potatoes. “That'd be cool.” He answered after a moment, noticing the tiniest smile that crept on his friends face.  
Before long Annabeth had turned her attention to the other students, clearly trying to be a good RA and spread her attention out to make sure people felt welcome. Their floor had plenty of returning students, and they were either also helping out with befriend transfers, or comfortably chatting with their friends they could finally see again.  
People finished their food pretty quickly, but everyone ended up staying around for a bit, chatting a bit more with others, forming new friendships and just enjoying themselves. It felt free. Percy loved it, it's more of what he had hoped college would be like. He didn't feel like a kid for once, he felt responsible for himself. His experience would be entirely what he made it to be. That filled him with a little fear, but also a deep sense of hope. It was finally the sort of freedom he needed.  
Dinner dragged on for a while more, seemingly most people not wanting to give up on the night yet, but eventually things did wind down. Piper and Percy waved to Annabeth as they left, figuring she'd stay around till the last person left and they wanted to relax. When they got back to the dorm, they found someone had put on the newest Mission Impossible movie. They both settled in on the little bench that was tucked around the corner from the TV in a little nook in the wall, pretty deep and covered with pillows so you really had to scoot back there to get comfy. They were chatting about their thoughts on the campus and what they looked forward to when Annabeth finally ended up back at the dorm, chatting with some old friends of her apparently. She waved goodbye to them, before seeing Percy and Piper and making her way over. Percy couldn't help but feel a little cool that Annabeth seemed interesting in hanging out with them. According to Piper at least, it wasn't just an RA being friendly. Annabeth plopped down on the cushions, letting out a massive sigh. “The first week is also so tiring.” She complained half-heartedly.   
“This isn't your first time being an RA?” Piper asked.  
Shaking her head, she propped herself up on her elbows. “Second. I was one last year too.” She offered.  
Soon she was quizzing them on what they were looking forward to, and what they should grab from the book store early in the morning when Ashe returned with her floor. Most went off to sleep, but she was still chatting with Tyler when she made eye contact with Annabeth and headed over, practically dragging the boy with her.   
“I was telling him how they always seem to have a good dinner for the floor dinners. Wanting to make a good first impression. Then they get lazy and it falls apart.” She complained, though the smile left her face. Tyler just had a patient smile on his face, and Percy thought they made an interesting pair. Ashe was like a sparkler, bright, kinda loud, and fun, while Tyler was like a desert. Quiet, cool, but pleasant and refreshing to be around. Those two seemed to prove that opposites attracted considering how fast friends they had become.  
“Campus is so big though.” Piper complained, once the five of them settled into a conversation and the RA quizzed them on where buildings were.   
“But most classes are close together so if you keep your schedule tight, you don't have to walk all over it usually.” Ashe offered before she remembered something, turning to Tyler. “What classes do you have? I never asked.”  
Tyler stared at her for a moment, before his eyes drifted off as he tried to remember. “Uh... Music Theory, Performance 1, Orchestral Band and... Calculus.” He listed off, seemingly being caught off guard by the jealous look Annabeth, Percy, and Piper were all giving him. “What?”  
“Nothing.” Annabeth said after a moment, shaking her head. “Just... I hate music majors. You get the fun classes. I have 4 math classes and a history one.” She groaned.   
“At least you have a focus, I have 4 classes in four different majors.” Piper admitted a bit sheepishly.   
Ashe rolled her eyes. “That's fine. Most people change their majors like 3 times during college. Annabeth and myself just got lucky we know what we want to do.” Percy felt her eyes drift over to him. “What about you?”  
Percy suddenly felt the pressure Tyler had before. “Just a few science classes and a history one. I'm a Marine Biology major.” He said, a little unsure. He saw Annabeth's eyebrow quirk a bit. “At least that's the current goal.”  
Tyler snickered a bit, causing the rest of look at him curiously. He just stared at them dumbly. “Current? Like... the ocean?”  
Annabeth just scoffed as Ashe snickered as well. “I didn't even catch that.” She said.  
“No pun intended.” Percy added helpfully.   
“I'll admit I was surprised when you asked about the gym.” Ashe said, glancing over at Tyler. “Especially after seeing you eat enough for two during breakfast.”  
Tyler shrugged. “It's just a habit for me now, and I'm pretty sure my sisters would kill me if I gave it up while away at college. If I could keep abs without going to the gym, I'd stop in a heartbeat.” He confessed, before yawning.   
Percy noticed Ashe and Annabeth share a look, before Ashe stared at him challengingly. “You have abs? Like... actual abs?”  
Tyler cheeks flushed as he saw the intense look from Ashe. “I mean... yeah? That's what exercising does. Especially when you normally eat well and have the metabolism of a young guy too.”  
“Prove it.” Ashe said, before her eyes widened as she realized what she had said without thinking. “Sorry, I mean...” She fumbled, realizing she was still technically an RA apparently. Piper was snickering at Ashe's reaction and Annabeth looked all too amused with seeing her friend flustered. Tyler just stared at her, his own cheeks red. His eyes glanced over at Piper and Percy for a moment, before he sighed and lifted up his shirt a bit. It was clear he was flexing, but he did definitely have some ab definition. Percy stared at Ashe's face as he saw her face flush as she stared a little too closely at them before she pried her eyes up to Tyler. “Wow. Point taken.”  
Tyler dropped his shirt just as quickly and glanced anywhere else. “Yeah, well you think I could grow up with my sisters without working out? It's like... how my family bonds. I was like 15 before I had a twinkie.”  
Piper leaned forward. “I take it your sisters play sports or something?”  
Tyler looked surprised at Ashe, jaw dropped. “You didn't tell them?”  
Ashe looked mildly offended. “I'm not a gossip. It's your life, I'm not going to brag about it or talk about it behind your back without permission.”  
Tyler just stared at her like she had a halo and he cast a glance over at Percy as if asking if he could believe her. Percy just smiled and nodded, hoping to reassure the guy.  
“Great. Ashe is trust worthy. Who are they?” Piper asked, her curiosity clearly boiling over.   
Tyler shifted slightly. “My sisters are Olivia and Isabella. Glacias.” He said waiting for a moment.   
Piper seemed confused, and Percy was pretty sure he recognized the name, but Annabeth seemed to understand first. “Wait. Like... the olympians?” She asked incredulously.   
Percy's own eyes widened. “Olivia does Snowboarding and Isabella is a skier right?”  
Tyler nodded, eyes looking off to the side.   
Piper finally understood. “That's awesome! I hear there are a lot of high hopes on them this year!”   
“Yeah, they're incredible.” He offered, before his smile faltered and he looked down.   
Percy's eyes glanced over to Ashe was caught off guard to see a dangerous warning look coming from her that even had Annabeth hesitating.   
“I really recommend you check out our volleyball teams though. We made it to nationals last year and I think this year our team will be even stronger. The energy in the air is always electric.” Ashe said, quickly moving the conversation on. Percy saw a look of relief cross Tyler's eyes and he stared to piece together the situation. Glancing over at Piper, she already seemed to be ahead of him, which wasn't exactly surprising considering her father.   
Before long they were all yawning and deciding to get some sleep.   
“We'll all meet up at 9:30 to get books, okay?” Piper offered and the rest of them offered sleepy acknowledgments. Tyler mumbled something about it being a sin to wake up that early but Ashe cheerfully promised to have them both up and ready to go by then.   
They said their goodbyes and Piper walked with Percy back to his room.   
“This... is going to be fun.” She offered after a moment. Percy just grinned back at her, nudging her hip with his. “I think so too. Most of the people seem pretty awesome, campus is cool, and the food is good.”  
Piper just rolled her eyes. “You'd live in Antarctica if they had good pizza.”   
“True, but I'm serious. I'm glad we went here.”   
Piper just grinned. “I am too. I'll see you tomorrow, make sure you're up on time.” She said before hugging him goodbye as he went into his room.  
After getting ready for bed, Percy settled in and tried to catalogue all the new stuff he had learned that day. College was going to be a lot, but he decided he didn't feel as lonely as he did when he woke up, and he fell into a comfortable sleep.


	3. Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group gets their books as they prepare for their first week of classes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay with this chapter! I was working on it kinda steadily, but it's a bit difficult for me to put time into this since I don't make any money from this and I have to split up my free time currently. However it's a longer chapter so I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to let me know what you think of the story so far in the comments!

Annabeth walked out of her room with a yawn, her messenger bag over her shoulder. Leaving the room corridor. Checking her phone again, she glared at the time. Classes started up the next day, though just introductory classes, but still her new friends had convinced her to get up early.   
Reyna and Jason were both chilling on the third floor, going over some notes and just chatting happily, if not kind of tired.   
They both perked up as she turned the corner, Jason waved and Reyna gave her a nod. “You’re up early.” She offered.  
Moving over, Annabeth plopped down on the couch next to Reyna. “Yeah. I’m grabbing my books with Ashe and some residents.”   
She nodded. “I grabbed mine yesterday.”  
Jason nodded as well. “I snagged mine right before they closed.”  
Annabeth just stretched out,yawning as she once again was regretting her life choices that lead to being an RA that is getting up early on Sunday on her last day before college begins for her junior year.  
Reyna could apparently read her mind because she just sighed and patted Annabeth’s leg. “On the bright side, in ten weeks we get a break for a week.”   
Glaring at her friend, she just sighed. “That doesn't make me feel better.”  
“I know.” Reyna teased, and Annabeth just swung the pillow over at her side and hit Reyna. Pausing, Reyna glared at her friend. “Really?”  
Annabeth just stuck her tongue out. You should know not to mess with me when I’m tired.”  
Reyna reached for the pillow at her side, but Jason was sitting on it. With a glare at him, his eyes widened as he quickly scrambled off the couch to the love seat next to it, not wanting to get in the middle of what was about to happen.   
With no hesitation, Reyna swung back with the pillow, hitting Annabeth. Annabeth recoiled, before staring at her. “What are you twelve?” She scoffed for a moment, her own hand tightening its grip slowly. A second later and they were off, hitting each other with pillows perhaps a little too aggressively.   
Jason just looked on from the side, terrified of cross fire.   
“Ooooh! Pillow fight? I wanna join!” Ashe’s voice called out from the fourth floor as she started to sprint down lobby staircase.  
Annabeth and Reyna continued to fight for a moment before they both broke apart, staring at each other with an intense gaze. Annabeth cracked first as a smirk slowly crept up on her face and she burst out laughing, Reyna joining in a moment later. Soon they were both laughing against each other and Annabeth wiped a tear from her eye.  
“I missed you this summer.”  
Reyna just nodded. “I missed you too.”  
Ashe finally made it down the steps. “Aww…” She complained, causing Annabeth to roll her eyes. “You’re an RA. You’re supposed to break up fights.” She said, raising an eyebrow while she still caught her breath.   
“Not if I could win them…” Ashe countered.  
Annabeth just laughed as Reyna rolled her eyes. “I’d crush you.” Reyna said, raising an eyebrow at the pixie haired girl.   
Ashe straightened up a bit, crossing her arms. “Is that a challenge?”  
Annabeth raised her hands between the two. Sure Annabeth was competitive, but those two were something else. Reyna was usually the most mature of them, but when she got competitive she wouldn’t back down. Annabeth had learned that first hand, and Ashe was just as bad.  
Looking around, she found a convenient excuse. “Is Tyler actually awake?”   
The boy was slinking down the stairs, and Annabeth wasn’t actually sure his eyes were open. He had a backpack over one shoulder, and seemed to be functioning on autopilot.   
Ashe continued to return Reyna’s challenging look for a few more seconds before she finally pried her gaze away to switch to her resident. “Technically? I think? It took a long time to actually get him out of his room so I’m calling this a win.”  
“I can hear you yo-” Tyler started to complain but was cut off as a massive yawn just overtook whatever retort he had.   
Jason, who looked a little calmer now that the danger had passed just looked at him sympathetically. “It’ll get easier to wake up earlier soon.”  
“I left home so I could stop early morning workouts and I’m still getting up early.” He complained, managing to get the words out without a yawn.  
Ashe just tousled his hair. “I’ll buy you a coffee on the way.” She offered.   
“I don’t drink coffee.” He responded automatically, before his eyes widened. “But thank you!” He quickly scrambled to cover, realizing his rejection could have sounded a little rude.  
Ashe nodded. “One of those freaks.” She teased. “Their hot chocolate is just as good.”  
“They don’t let me have coffee anymore.” She complained, giving a pointed glare to Annabeth and Reyna.  
Shrugging, Annabeth brushed some hair behind her ear. “Cause you and caffeine are a bad mix. You get way too energetic. You’re like one red bull from actually combusting into flames.”  
Before Ashe could retort, or Tyler could pass out standing, the sound of the doors opening on their floor rang out again and soon Piper and Percy came wandering around the corner. They both looked a little tired, but better off than Tyler.  
Percy yawned as he adjusted his beanie, futily tucking some hair up under it, though it didn’t make much of an impact on the mess peaking through. Annabeth smiled softly, he looked cute like that.  
Piper tightened the flannel around her waist as she walked over to Annabeth. “Mornin;”  
Annabeth gave her a small wave. “You seem to function well in the morning.”   
Piper just shrugged. “Better than some others.” She said with a laugh glancing at Percy then Tyler.  
“Ready?” Annabeth asked, earning nods from the group. “Ashe said we’re stopping for coffee on the way at the snack shop.”  
Piper’s eyes lit up. “Please tell me they have fraps”   
Annabeth nodded. “With all the sugar you could need. It’s how I get through finals.”   
Piper dramatically placed her hand to her chest and let out a deep sigh of relief. “I think I might actually be able to survive college now.” Annabeth rested a hand on her shoulder. “A sister in arms, I see.”  
“Nerds, let’s go.” Ashe teased jealously, ushering her sleeping resident off towards the elevator.  
“Is he gonna be okay?”  
Percy asked, seeing the boy just lean against the corner of the elevator and seemingly fall asleep.  
“Probably.” Ashe said dismissively, though her eyes flickered over to him out of concern for the briefest moment.   
“Do you know what books you need yet?”  
Annabeth pulled out her list as Piper and Percy shared an equally helpless look.   
“Don’t worry, they have the books sorted by classes. As long as you know your classes you can find your books. It’s also good sometimes to wait until the first week for more expensive books to see if you actually need them. Sometimes teachers have other options available or you can share depending on the class.” Annabeth reassured, and they both paid careful attention to her advice. Meanwhile Tyler’s head slumped farther into the corner and the bell dinged.   
“Come on.” Ashe said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed his sleeve and tugged him along. As soon as they left the lobby and into the chilly winter air, they all felt a little more alert. Even Tyler had woken up by that point and was stretching slightly.   
“Well you woke up fast.” Annabeth said, raising an eyebrow as the boy who just seemingly woken up from hibernation started to be fully functional.   
Tyler yawned once more but shrugged. “Usually when it’s cold in the morning and I’m outside I’m about to workout so my body wakes me up. Years of practice. Till then I rest.”  
Ashe just stared at him. “I can’t tell if that’s impressive or kinda sad…”  
“Both?” Annabeth and Percy chimed in at the same time, before looking at each other and snickering while Piper looked between them with a growing grin.   
Ashe just laughed while Tyler pouted slightly and walked a little faster ahead.   
Annabeth bit her lip, feeling a pang of guilt. She didn’t mean to tease the poor boy. This was still that awkward first week of school where everyone was bumping up against each other, finding friends and trying to figure out how to interact with each other.  
Ashe wasted no time though, speeding up a bit herself and nudging him in the side before starting to talk about how she gets up early but can’t stay up late without passing out.  
Soon they were chatting happily again and Annabeth just looked on impressed.  
“She’s really good with people.” Piper commented, falling in step next to Annabeth.   
Nodding, the blonde smiled slightly. “She’s been like that since I met her. I can read people pretty well, but making them feel welcome is something else. I’m kinda jealous…” Annabeth offered, mostly thinking out loud.   
Piper was looking at her with a soft expression, and nodded.  
“I think you do a pretty good job of making people feel welcome.” Percy chimed in, making her turn to look at him with surprise. He was still walking, not making direct eye contact as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I just mean… I was really nervous when I got here. It’s my first time living away from my Mom, and sure I dragged Piper out here with me but I’ve never been the best in school and I have a habit of getting into trouble but you… and the other RA’s too, have helped me feel… welcome. Like maybe things won’t be so bad after all.” He confessed, glancing over at Piper who was giving him a “proud mom” grin before he looked even farther away. Annabeth couldn’t help but notice a very distinct red blush to his cheeks.   
“I’m… uh… we’re glad. That you feel like that! Yeah… uh… I’ll be sure to pass that along.” She mumbled, her emotions overwhelming her mind for the first time in a while.   
Piper just glanced between the two, rolling her eyes and smiling. This time it was just too easy.   
Soon they made they’re way across campus and suddenly there were veered off course as Ashe lead them to the local cafe run by students.   
As they entered the smaller shop, “Demeter’s garden” an overpowering smell of coffee beans assaulted their senses. “Welcome! Morning, Annabeth.” A chorus of voices called out, causing the new students to glance at her before she shrugged. “Like I said… I kinda need coffee to function.”  
“What, no greeting for me?” Ashe challenged, raising an eyebrow.   
“You’re still on our no-serve list.” One replied, with a shrug glancing at Annabeth.  
Ashe pouted. “This is discrimination.”  
Patting her friend on her back, she shrugged. “You know it’s because we care about you. You really don’t need to get hooked on caffeine.”   
Shooting a glare at her friend, Ashe just looked away from her pointedly before turning back to Tyler, shoving him towards the register. “He’ll have a medium hot chocolate. With whipped cre- You like whipped cream, right? Right. Of course you do. With whipped cream.” She ordered for him, having barely waited for a confirming nod in the middle of it. “I’ll have a strawberry Italian Soda.” She ordered.   
Annabeth noticed Tyler start to reach for a wallet but Ashe was already handing over a card, ignoring Tyler’s somewhat shy attempts at getting her attention to offer to pay. Watching with a small smirk, Annabeth had a feeling those two would be a pretty steady source of amusement for her this year.   
When Ashe had turned back around, she saw Tyler holding out a five for her. She looked at it, looked at him, snickered and just moved towards one of the tables to wait, with him trailing behind her still trying to give her the money.   
Annabeth glanced over at Percy and Piper as they conferred on the menu, debating what to get.  
Piper walked up first. “I’ll have a medium caramel mocha frappuccino, please.”  
The boy nodded, writing it on the cup as Percy stepped up. “I’ll have an espresso.” Percy said, starting to reach for his wallet as Piper literally started pushing him aggressively to side as she fished out her own card. The pair of friends were shoving each other aside in a way that reminded Annabeth of herself and Reyna while she just walked up and whistled slightly. The barista caught her eye and moved over and Annabeth handed her card over. “The usual, please. Thanks Malcolm.” He just nodded, swiping it and registering all three drinks on it.   
By the time Piper and won out, she was confused to see a receipt being printed, before she turned accusingly to Annabeth.   
“Let’s go sit.” Was all she said as she walked past them to where Ashe seemed to be dealing with the same conversation.   
“... it doesn’t seem fair for you to have to pay for me. I already appreciate you help me getting my books.”  
“Tyler, it’s fine. I’m your RA, just let me treat you. You can cover me next time.” She said with a wink, leaving Tyler stunned as if he was suddenly trying to realize if he was being flirted with or not.  
Annabeth was wondering if Ashe was seriously flirting with him or not when Piper looked mad as she sat down. “Don’t tell me I have to start distrusting you in shops too.” She threatened.   
Annabeth shrugged. “It’s like Ashe said, we’re RA’s. We like treating our students when we can.”   
Piper glared at her, clearly not going to let this drop but stayed quiet while Percy smiled at her. “Well uh… thanks. I’ll make it up to you later.”   
“Sure.” Annabeth said dismissively, not really caring much about settling any debts.   
Before long their drinks were called up and they grabbed them, everyone satisfied as they made their way towards the store.   
“This is… like really good.” Piper said, taking another big sip.  
“I wouldn’t know.” Ashe mumbled, earning a snicker from Tyler who looked away innocently when she glared at him.  
Annabeth ignored her friend. “It’s because they’re very very picky about their beans. Everything is pretty local and the baristas are carefully trained. They have high standards and it shows.”  
“You should apply there.” Piper said, nudging Percy.   
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t take you for a coffee lover.”  
“I’m not really, but my mom works in a candy shop and for a few summers I worked as a barista at the cafe across the street since my mom befriended the owner and got me the job.”  
“What do you think got me addicted to fraps? I felt bad bugging him at work if I didn’t order anything so I kinda picked up the habit.” Piper continued.  
Annabeth glanced a Percy, suddenly picturing him with rolled up sleeves and an old apron as he worked at a coffee machine, swaying his hips slightly to whatever popular song was on the radio and Annabeth wondered if she could put in a good word with Malcolm…  
As they walked, Ashe and Annabeth took turns pointing out other smaller locations that were good to know about the campus that wasn’t covered in the tour.   
Approaching the store, they saw a line that formed outside the doors. “At least it’s not that bad.” Annabeth offered.  
The new students shared a look, disbelieving her.   
Smirking, Annabeth shrugged. “The first few days are pretty crazy.”  
“It’s not that bad.”  
“It’s awful.”  
Tyler and Ashe said at the same time respectively, before looking at each other with surprise.   
“Did you two practice that or…” Piper offered.  
“It won't be that long of a wait.” Tyler replied.  
“But standing around doing nothing in the cold is the worst.”  
Ashe turned to Percy and Piper. “And now you get to see Ashe’s kryptonite. She’s impatient and hates the cold. The time to strike is now.” She explained as if tutoring them.   
Ashe just kicked the back of Annabeth’s shoe gently. “What happened to being a team?”  
“We have a wait so I figured messing with you was the best way to pass the time.” The line inched forward as a few more students were allowed in the store to start shopping so they stepped forward. “See? Time flies.” She teased, earning a laugh from Percy.   
Ashe was pouting slightly, rubbing her arms. Before she could say something most likely rude, she was cut off be a cup being offered to her. Tyler was smiling softly, if not looking a little sheepish.   
“You look a little cold… and it’s still warm and you did pay for it. So I thought you might want some.” He clearly started to lose his confidence and he started to take his hand back. “Er… so-”  
Ashe reached out, grabbing the cup gently. Taking a brief sip, she smiled before handing him the cup back. “Thank you, that actually did help warm me up.”  
Judging by the blush on Tyler’s face, Annabeth had a feeling he was feeling pretty warm too.   
“N-No problem.” He offered.  
Ashe tucked some of her hair behind her ear, looking off towards the crowd, giving Annabeth a chance to see the back of her neck was flushed.   
Glancing over at Piper, Piper was giving her the same look as if saying “Are you seeing this?”  
Annabeth smirked and held up 2 fingers. Percy seemed clueless but Piper seemed to get the hint before shaking her head and holding up three.  
Annabeth mouthed “weeks” and Piper shook her head, mouthing “months.”   
This brought a frown to her face, wondering why she thought it would take so long for these two dorks to get together when they’re so obviously crushing on each other already, but she couldn’t really have the conversation sneakily, at least without the pixie girl probably actually hitting her and based off what she knew about one of her sisters, Ashe probably knew how to hurt someone if she wanted to. “Resident Angel” or not, Annabeth did learn to avoid getting on her bad side if she could help it.   
They made their way to the door to enter the little hallway of the student union leading to the store and without any hesitation, Percy had moved over and was leaning against the door to prop it open since they couldn’t quite make their way in fully yet.  
Smirking slightly, Annabeth had to admit that was nice to see guys that seemed so thoughtlessly considerate.   
“So, I’m not sure if you were fully awake before Tyler. Do you know what books you need?”  
Tyler looked at her, pausing mid sip from his drink.  
Reaching into his back pocket he pulled out a paper, unfolded it to show a clean list of his classes, and each book with a few marked with a (?) causing Annabeth to raise an eyebrow approvingly while the rest of them looked shocked.   
He just glanced at them, mildly confused. “If you check online for each class it often says what books to buy or wait on, or at least a list. I didn’t want to spend time fumbling around a store so I wrote it up last night. I wasn’t fully sure how ordering them ahead of time would work either, so I went with this.”  
Annabeth felt proud someone else out of their group seemed to be responsible and she gave a pointed look to Ashe.   
“I learned eventually!” She mumbled, refusing to make eye contact.   
“After borrowing my book for 4 weeks cause they ran out by the time you went to buy them…”  
“They should have ordered more!”  
She gave a mildly betrayed look to Tyler who was still surprised by the reaction to him being responsible.   
“Stop making me look bad and just go back to sleep!”  
She complained half heartedly, taking another sip of her drink.   
They started to approach the entrance finally and Annabeth down the rest of her drink. “Finish up your drinks, they’re really picky about not letting drinks in the shop. Too many people spill stuff.” They all nodded and quickly started finishing their drinks, tossing them in a nearby trash as they finally had the chance to filter in.   
Annabeth lead the way to the back of the store, starting to point out where the various sections were and how to read the shelf tags. Some time passed, and after helping Piper find her last class, and reassuring Percy that used books were perfectly fine, and the smarter choice for the price, Annabeth quickly scooped up her books.  
They made their way to Ashe who was finishing up picking up a heavy book on cooking theory, who seemed utterly disheartened at the prospect of having to lug it around for at least a term, they saw Tyler standing off to the side looking sheepish. Her RA instincts took over, and before she could try to aid him Ashe was already approaching him with a warm smile.   
“Trouble finding something, Mr. Prepared?” She teased, a genuine care obvious.  
“No… I uh… didn’t want to ditch you guys. And… I didn’t… really know where the line started…” He mumbled, his shyness clearly creeping back up.   
Ashe just nudged his basket with hers. “They really do need better markings. Especially on opening days like this, plus its not like students ever follow them anyway so they have to keep fixing it like every two minutes. C’mon it’s over here.” She said, leading the way while comparing the rest of the shop to an escape room while trying to find anything.   
Annabeth just appreciated how smooth her friend was, yet again.  
“Ready?” She said, double checking to see that her own residents had all the books they needed. She saw Percy’s eyes trail over to the clothing shelves. “Wanna look?”  
He shook his head after a moment. “Nah… I should see how much these books end up being first anyway. I can grab one later.”  
Annabeth nodded, before making sure they got in line behind Ashe and Tyler.   
A few more minutes later and they were out of the shop, bags in hand as they started the rather long trek back to their dorm.   
As they walked they compared book weights, and it seemed like Percy drew the short straw this time, his bag was pretty heavy. Meanwhile Tyler was pretty well off relatively, earning yet another glare from Ashe as she hoisted her bag a little higher, that one rock of a book reminding her of her burdens.   
As they passed by the cafeteria near the dorms, they noticed Tyler slowing down slightly, starting to drift towards it.   
“Let’s put our stuff away then we can grab some food.” Annabeth offered, noting how hungry Percy was looking too.  
As they made their way back up to the rooms, they promised to meet for food in a bit and Annabeth went back to her room. Setting her books off to the side near her bag, she smiled.  
She was glad she had already made some new friends. The last year she mostly hang around the other RA’s and focused on getting through her work. Sure she got on well with most of the students, but finding her own friend group was never a high priority. She wasn’t in college for fun after all. But… thinking back at Percy’s laugh Annabeth figured it might not be bad to adapt her plans a bit.  
After they got breakfast together, the day passed pretty quickly. Another meeting to go over some more RA responsibilities and the floor meeting they had tomorrow morning. Some students had some more questions, like always, and she took the opportunity to hang out in the lobby and read the first part of the first chapter for one of her classes to get a headstart on the work.   
Towards the end of the night it seemed most people were feeling the effects of a crazy day. Percy and Annabeth were lounging on the couch again, watching a basketball game with a few others. Jason and Reyna were out on another walk through the dorms to make sure everything was okay, Ashe was letting another student who had been locked out. Tyler was in the corner of the room pouring over some kind of folder and intently staring at some pages. Her curiosity was piqued, but she figured Ashe would figure it out eventually and ramble about it to her.  
Ashe returned not long after, plopping down at the table she was sitting at with a dramatic sigh. “People should be able to remember their keys this early on…” She complained.   
Annabeth just patted her arm. “They really should… chocolate?” She said, sliding her a piece of her hershey’s bar.   
The girl’s eyes lit up like it was christmas and she ate it happily, seemingly back to normal. A small smile graced Annabeth’s lips, amused with how easy it was to pep up her friend’s spirits. They chatted a bit about the floor meeting coming up, and how they planned to cover all the subjects. Eventually though Ashe’s attention shifted to Tyler and his mysterious focus and she wandered over before long. Resting her chin on her palm, Annabeth watched Ashe talk to the boy, point at the paper, and leaned over his shoulder to get a better look. Which amusingly had the boy get flustered and start stammering as he tried to explain whatever it was. A moment later the paper was on the ground and Tyler was starting to explain whatever it was to her with a lot of pointing and hand gestures, which Ashe seemed to be eagerly responding with.   
Glancing down at her own page of notes, she suddenly felt like she was falling into her old habits again. Closing the book and setting it in her bag, she made her way around to plop onto the couch next to Piper.   
The girl turned her head to her. “Done with your homework for the semester?”  
Scoffing, Annebeth just adjusted her ponytail. “I was just getting some work done. Being an RA means you never know when your free time will be taken away from you.”  
Piper nodded. “That’s fair I guess. I’ll make sure I’m super inconvenient for you.”   
“Already doing a good job of that.” Percy chimed in, earning a laugh from the blonde and a glare from his best friend.  
“For real though, I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again. Feel free to come to me with any worries you two have. We’re RA’s for a reason and it is our job to help anyway we can.”  
They both nodded and were seemingly satisfied. As the night wrapped up Annabeth could tell they were starting to get a little antsy. “Nervous about classes?”   
“Yeah… we did two years at community college but I’ve heard horror stories of actual universities…” Percy muttered.   
Piper just nodded, playing with the feather in her hair.   
“It’s really no different. Every teacher is different. Some are stricter and some are more goofy. As long as you are honest with them, go to them if you need a little more help, you should be fine. I can’t promise you won’t get any annoying teachers, but this really isn’t much different from community colleges. Just a little… nicer. And more expensive.”  
Annabeth paused, noticing how earnestly they were listening to her. A few other students nearby seemed to be listening to her so she sat up a bit, shifting into RA mode a little.   
“The most important thing to remember if that you guys aren’t alone here. I don’t just mean the RA’s or the counselors either. All of the students here are just like you, just trying to graduate and get through this year.” She offered.   
“She’s right, as usual.” Ashe’s voice chimed in from behind her. Tilting her head back, she saw Ashe standing behind the couch, her hands resting on Annabeth’s shoulders gingerly.   
“Even the people who you think are the most put together are also just trying to keep things together. No one has all the answers, and everyone has the same doubts.” She continued, her voice carrying a bit. “Annabeth isn’t the perfect student, and I worry about making friends just like you all. Don’t think that we’re any different from you. So don’t lock yourself away. The worst thing you can do in college is make it make a lonely experience yourself.”  
Annabeth smiled up at her friend, appreciating the honesty. The students were all murmuring agreement, seemingly taking their words seriously.   
“They’re right. Besides, we have a lot of different kinds of students here too.” Jason’s voice cut in with a confident tone as he returned with Reyna from their patrol.   
“Any interest you have I can assure you there’s a few others here with it as well. Whether its sports, academics, gaming, music, food, musicals, or even just relaxing your days away. You can find people with similar interests.” He continued.  
“But also remember that college is the best place to learn about new things too.” Reyna chimed in, crossing her arms and offering a confident smile. “While there are plenty of people here that you can connect to, there are plenty of people you might not have many more opportunities to talk with in the future. Try new interests, listen to other people’s perspectives. You don’t have to agree with everyone, but be respectful and listen and you might just learn more around others than you will in your classes.” She continued.   
“Just look at your RA’s. Jason’s the captain of the cricket team, I’m the captain of the volleyball team, Annabeth is one of our best students and Ashe just likes food.” She said, earning a glare from the pixie girl. Reyna just flipped her off, though she was grinning at her friend. “And she’s one of the sweetest friends you could have, I guess.” She relented, a hint of fondness slipping through. “But Jason is a dork who also likes staplers…” Which earned a swift kick to her leg from the boy. She continued on with a slight grunt of pain in her first few words. “Annabeth works so hard she forgets she’s human during finals week and starts to fall apart.” Annabeth shot a glare at her friend, hoping she had a point with all of this. “Ashe is the antithesis to Annabeth and once forgot she had a midterm…” “THAT WAS ONE TIME.” The girl cut in, earning a laugh from Annabeth. “And I almost got kicked out freshman year for fighting.”  
That earned some murmurs from students who were now looking at Reyna with a healthy respect.   
“We’re all a mess, and all very different from each other, even if we’re good at different things. But they’ve been my closest friends since I first started going here and I never would have expected it before.” Reyna confessed, her voice uncharacteristically soft. “So college can be a bit unexpected, but as long as you come into it with an open mind and an open heart, I have confidence that you all will be fine. Now get some sleep because missing your first class of the year isn’t the way to start it off.” She finished.   
The students all looked at each other for a moment, before nodding. A few of them said thanks, and one asked about the cricket team, another about volleyball, and they started to trickle to their rooms.   
“Like staplers? REALLY?” Jason asked, glaring at his friend.   
Piper turned towards him. “I was wondering about that…”  
Jason dropped his head in his hands. “I hate her. If I didn’t think she could kick my ass I’d have kicked hers by now.”  
Reyna just laughed, resting an arm on his shoulder as she leaned against him. “That scar on his lip is from when he chewed on a stapler as a kid.”  
Piper just burst out laughing. “That’s really cute.” Jason looked mortified and Percy laughed.  
“I just like food?” Ashe said with a dangerous lilt in her voice as she started walking towards Reyna, squaring her up. “That’s all you could say about me?”   
“I had to make you sound kinda good for the point I was trying to make. You didn’t give me much to work with.” She countered.  
Ashe glared at her before her gaze drooped slightly. “Sor-”   
Reyna pulled her friend into a tight hug. “You know I’m just teasing. You’re the best chef I know and the only thing sweeter than your pastries are you.”   
Ashe returned the hug before looking at her with a warm smile.   
Reyna shrugged. “Besides, I can’t tell everyone you’re the best chef otherwise they’ll have you cook for them and I’ll get less food.”   
“You just like me for my food.”   
“Yes.”  
Ashe laughed and punched Reyna in the shoulder, before yawning. “It’s so late.” She mumbled, eyes drooping now that the responsibility of being a good RA had passed her body wasn’t liking the hour. It was starting to near midnight after all.   
“Really? It doesn’t feel that late to me.” Tyler chimed in, having listened to the little speech patiently behind one of the chairs.  
Glancing over at the two, Annabeth noticed the stark contrast to the morning. Ashe looked like she was about to pass out and Tyler seemed like it was dinner time for him.   
“Stupid night owls.” Ashe muttered, before yawning again.   
“Alright, that little speech applies to us too. You should all go to bed since you’re not on call tonight. Reyna and I have it from here.”  
Jason ordered, looking at them.   
They all finally agreed and gathered their stuff heading off to their rooms for the night.  
As annabeth put her bag off to the side so it would be ready for her classes in the morning, she began changing into her pajamas. Smiling, she looked at herself in the mirror. She was really looking forward to this school year.


End file.
